My 2 cents on some comments made so far:
Balance of ST Uncut after devs patch BMS: This is why TEXT’s work needs to be integrated BEFORE they balance. The HECU receiving an accuracy nerf is almost a certainty. This will either favor the battles more toward the aliens (fine storytelling wise but potentially annoying w/the number of survivors) or, if they’re smart and implement some of my suggestions, will make no difference.
What I had proposed was a slight decrease in HECU reaction time, an accuracy nerf (60-85%ish) but a slight increase in MP5 primary damage. This creates the overall effect of a slight nerf and makes the HECU still dangerous but not behave like aimbots. On the alien side, I suggested a slight increase in vort charge-up and possible charge-up interruption like in HL, which again creates a nerf. In theory, these effects should cancel out on both sides.
On TEXT becoming a BMS dev: Talent-wise it’s pretty obvious that he could and would be a great intermediary between the community and the dev team. Realistically, it’s unlikely he’ll get accepted. Assuming the devs aren’t petty or have some bullshit excuse, there is a very good reason why he won’t be included on the team…it’s because realistically, there’s only the Xen chapters to work on. Assuming ~80% of the dev team is still there, that would leave some 30 people working on just a few chapters, which creates a situation where a lot of toes would get stepped on.
OAR expansion: I don’t think you’ll be able to capture the HL pacing of the chapter given the extent of the BMS redesign but you could still retain some of the original’s flavor w/o having to decompile anything except for the final map (for the outdoor scene) so there is definitely some potential here. Again, probably not worth your time if you don’t get on the dev team, but if you do decide on the remake, make sure you post the first thread on Leak-free so it’s easier for readers to see the periodic updates.
If you are seriously thinking about game design as a career, I’d recommend ditching OAR and play the mod Minerva by Adam Foster. He has a very interesting philosophy on level design and I’d argue that his work is actually better than Valve’s in many ways (probably why he got hired there). If you want a real challenge that would look great in your portfolio, consider creating a new story set in the HL universe or doing a remake of Point of View.
Promoting ST uncut: For the forum posters, I recommend you make “Let’s Play BMS ST videos” on Youtube and TwitchTV. These tend to be pretty popular and you’ll surprise many viewers when they see the new ST sections. On the description, make sure to provide a link to TEXT’s download or to the BMS forum.
[u]0.95b+hotfix critique[/u]
General impressions
As far as I’m concerned, this version is good enough to be the final…w/the exception of the lack of a failure message in the TOW courtyard (yes, I do think it’s that much of a gamebreaker). The garage looks much better now. All battles are balanced but see my suggestions to improve realism of the LAV battle (really the most important fix after the TOW courtyard). Nice job on adding the LAV-killing Agrunts…they look good. Think the rooftop crate swap was necessary (sorry Jessie) and I like the restoration of the furnace room. The premature Garg scene trigger has been fixed.
Regarding ammo/health, NO MORE ADDITIONS from now on…only substitutions and deletions. You’ve progressively added more w/each patch, which was necessary initially for balance, but now it’s just there to keep things interesting for testers (rather than for optimizing gameplay, which is more important). I will say that the 2 batteries prior to the gasworks were probably the best placement so far…their impact is greatly felt. Do what you can w/these suggestions to add that extra bit of polish for the final release.
Green=ammo/health, Red=bad
General
[COLOR=‘Lime’]When spawning in C2A5G for the final release, give players TRIPMINE and SATCHEL as they were encountered in the armory (3/5 and up is fine).
If you have time, do a playthrough of ST w/your final release to make sure that the player’s weapon layout isn’t affected when loading in C2A5G.
Delete the solid white lines that are perpendicular to the direction of the road in the TOW courtyard, LAV courtyard (where the bunker roads intersect the main road), and the tank battle (tank spawn road to main road). This is inconsistent w/BMS as well as real US roads and is aesthetically displeasing.
C2A5G
Garage
Fix the arms of the impaled marine such that it’s more affected by gravity. Otherwise he’s fine.
Realign the parking lines on the side of the garage closest to the outside battle to fix the disjoint between the opposite sides. It’s most obvious in the handicapped spaces but you can see it on all floors (image 1).
The new food vending machines look illogically placed/awkward because they are away from the soda machines. Again, the best solution is to SWAP a food vending machine on floor G w/a drink machine and vice versa on floor 1.
Smooth out the transitions of the spiral driveway to remove the ramp/abrupt appearance.
[COLOR=‘lime’]You added a battery in the outside battle WITHOUT deleting another health pickup which compounds the overgenerosity problem which was already in this section. Move this battery by the 1st floor zombie and delete the medkit. The destructible crate can give nothing or maybe a pair of tripmines (TOW courtyard prep). Don’t use other explosives or uranium because of later script breaking.
[COLOR=‘lime’]Drink machines should dispense soda. This is consistent w/BMS but is also a good compromise to the overgenerosity problem. People playing at harder skill.cfgs or who are really hurt can simply drink away till they’re back at 100 which will allow you to delete that zombie medkit.
The stripes underneath the floor 1 vending machines should no longer be there as you’ve elevated this section. Replace w/a light gray color to reflect the new sidewalk appearance.
This section of the road on floor 1 still needs a correction (image 2, old image but problem’s still there). Delete the solid white line between the roads and connect the dotted lines.
Although you’ve somewhat addressed the road disjoint on floor 2, it still doesn’t address the fact that there should be a road over the large hole near the driveway, which is present on the floor below. Again the best solution is to add more DEBRIS to mask this area and the road disjoint.
Outside garage
Now too many crates outside, which makes this section too cluttered/ claustrophobic. Delete the crates by the marines and retest the AI battle. Make sure it still favors the aliens more often than not.
Vent drop/car shop
Either the destroyed window should be more bluish or its debris should be more yellowish to create a better color match. Delete or change the explosion effect in the window as it looks like water is gushing into the room.
[COLOR=‘lime’]Reduce health dispenser to 50 (75 is way too much, also medkits in the courtyard).
TOW courtyard
[COLOR=‘Red’]Add the “failure to preserve mission-critical assets” message if the player uses up the TOW w/o opening the Agrunt silo door.
Make the large vehicle adjacent to the M35 destructible w/the TOW. Note that TOW missiles currently have a tendency to clip through the vehicle.
The new redesign of the power generator area is bad…revert to 0.83b settings. The power generator makes sense because of all of the power lines in the distance, but you’ve introduced too many themes now…it’s like you’ve added a gasworks to the area as well some water towers (the giant pipes are what really stick out) and both of these choices are bizarre and quite frankly dangerous to have near a power facility.
This new redesign also creates a contradiction in your intentions w/the harrier, though I understand it’s to hide some of the flaws w/the takeoff. But what do you really want to do here…hide it or show it? It seems like the former and if that’s the case, why not delete it altogether? If you want to keep the harrier, revert to 0.83b settings to provide a clear view of the takeoff and give the harrier some sounds (the effect from the harrier flyby in early ST should work). Also, note that the harrier does NOT need to fly in an arc as the player can’t really see it. Thus, you don’t have to make it fly so high after takeoff, which will smooth out the angles of ascent. Simply give the harrier a linear flight path, which is more realistic anyway.
Osprey/LAV courtyard
Aesthetic touch-ups to the LAV battle: 1) 1 of the 2 marines guarding the Osprey now runs down the ramp and INTO the aliens to fight. This looks odd because it’s unrealistic for the marine to give up an advantageous position (elevation) and suicide into the aliens. Have him STAY STILL while defending. 2) Similarly, the behavior of the 4 bunker marines was better in 0.83b. They should NOT be running into the alien mobs as it’s unrealistic. It would look better if they didn’t cross the main road. 3) Though you changed the bunker medic’s positioning, it’s still off…place him BEHIND the first row of soldiers.
These are actually extensions of the bunker roads and need to be fixed (image 3)…simply delete the dotted lines.
The positioning of the camera does not correlate w/the image on the Barney monitor in C2A5H. The monitor shows the helipad when it is viewed facing the TOW COURTYARD. It SHOULD show the helipad when facing C2A5H to realistically account for the camera’s positioning/angle. Simply take the correct screenshot and re-add it to the monitor.
The sentry looks a little awkward on the white table…plus it’s obstructing the map. It might look better if you set it on the floor near the RPG ammo or near the other green crates.
Move the second bunker (the one w/o the LAV and soldier) the same distance out as the first bunker. It’s unusual to have them at different distances.
While standing on the helipad and jumping (or just standing on the now fixed Osprey debris), you can easily see the lightly colored bland metal plate sitting atop the bunkers and the adjacent regions. This plate should be deleted or at the very least recolored. You can also see these plates atop many of the buildings in C2A5G-H.
C2A5H
Opening section
The stairs in the dead Barney room should now lead to a DOOR, as players can now see w/in the room.
Regarding the blood on the wall that’s there before the marine dies, I say keep it…it probably looks worse if that huge stain appeared instantly after the marine hits the wall.
The placement of the wooden crates is really awkward. Either delete (better for performance) or add more crates to reinforce the idea.
Tank battle
[COLOR=‘Lime’]Delete the crossbow bolts in the new room by the hut and replace w/1 crate of uranium (or a pair of satchels). You already gave 2 clips in C2A5G (LAV courtyard).
Rooftop
You can actually add a third crate closer to the player when he gets to the rooftop (between the AC unit and the pipe leading out of it)…this doesn’t need to be a demonstration crate but would help to make this area a little more challenging and reinforce the explosives idea, as you can only see 1 crate once you’re out of the rooftop.
Fix the ugly hangar rooftop in the background.
[COLOR=‘lime’]Replace the new medkit on the rooftop w/a battery (universally vs circumstantially useful…plus it still makes the furnace charger helpful).
Always forget to mention this, but you outrange the vort’s attack on the opposite rooftop. If he survives, he will just stand there and look stupid.
Satpipe and furnace
You created an inconsistency by deleting the red light on the satchel as the satchels in the car shop trap have red lights. As red is an important warning color, you should re-add it to the pipe satchel to avoid having to delete them in the car shop. Or do Chickenprot’s fix, which is good.
Gasworks to end
Seems like you added an invisible wall to prevent the Agrunt from crossing the flames. However, his movement is severely restricted and awkward now. You can fix this by moving the flame and wall separating him and the vort more to the player’s left. The vort doesn’t move much anyway so this doesn’t affect him.
[COLOR=‘lime’]Add 50 health to the empty health charger (accounts for 2 medkits). Delete the medkit in the Barney room (seems a little convenient w/an empty charger). Delete the second medkit in the crate by the entrance to C2A5I. This one serves no useful purpose because it’s after the .50 cal battle and there’s already a medkit by the charging vort and plenty more in the garg intro. It becomes more useful when integrated into the charger.
The view of the LAV courtyard as shown on the monitor is incorrect (see above). All other monitors are fine.
Delete the down arrow on the “security room” logo above the door and re-center the logo. Direction arrows are only used on signs if the destination is far away.
When viewed from the outside, the hangar door exiting the gasworks is still far too close to the left to be realistic. Adjust if possible.
You can improve the 3 Osprey evac even more by moving it further away from the player as he exits the gasworks (like where the old Apache used to be). The most optimal view is achieved by having them fly right to left but you can angle it a little. If you decide to adjust, make sure they player cannot quickly run outside the gasworks and see them insta-spawn.
Once the road door opens, delete the first white door to your right. Note that this door is supposed to lead to the new area behind the hut but when viewed from w/in the hut, there’s just a wall in its place.
C2A5I
Garg chase
The .50 cal by the garg still appears to be suspended in midair (you fixed the wrong one)…arrange it like you did w/the .50 cal at the tank battle (add a green crate).
Add something in the garg’s entrance site to justify its appearance, like a large hole in the wall that’s inaccessible to the player because of debris.
The garg’s pathing is broken once he gets to the long section of the reservoir (image 4). He just makes little circles and fails to patrol the perimeter. He does the same thing when you are in the pool. I think you could fix the latter by giving the garg a wider patrol path…he can move toward the pool, away from it, and towards it, etc. so he doesn’t get stuck and make little circles.
At the entrance to FaF, rotate the handicap sign 90 degrees such that the wheel faces the parking space’s exit (it’s currently inconsistent w/your garage signs and unrealistic).
The dotted lines on the road leading into the FaF tunnel turn into a pair of solid lines which is unusual. Give the tunnel road dotted lines instead.
Major garg clip through the white door (image 5).
Decrease the door opening rate such that it’s about half as fast as it is now, as it’s a little unusual.
Add a cracking ceiling effect in the FaF tunnel.
Adjust the physics of the falling ceiling debris such that it doesn’t behave like old tennis balls. This is really just an issue when you get to the end of the corridor…a lot of pieces will fall, which creates a bizarre effect.
Fix the disjointed appearance of the central white line by extending the whites stripes to the garage.
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